“Have you watched Doomsday Preppers? Man,
those people are crazy!”
“We’ve got this neighbor
down the street who’s prepping for the end of the world. What a weirdo!”
We’ve all heard these
comments (or similar ones). As for the wife and me, when friends, delivery men,
in-laws, out-laws, offspring, or third cousins (who only show when they need
something) come by the house, we don’t want them thinking we’re crazier than we
are. Most importantly, we don’t want them knowing we’re prepping. For obvious
security reasons, we don’t want those cousins to be the first at our doorstep
when SHTF. So, how do we prepare without looking the part?
The wife and I are
blessed to live in a good home on a remote farm in eastern Tennessee with
plenty of resources at hand– good garden space, open fields in front, timber
around, plenty of storage space, and a good defensible arrangement. We’re
fortunate to keep most of our food stored in sheds and have a dry, cool
basement to store food, ammo, medicine, and whatever else we need. Everything
is stored in dusty old boxes and bags, clearly marked for what is NOT in them.
When asked by our children why our milk is powdered or why their Mom makes her
own washing detergent, we convincingly (and truthfully) respond that it saves
lots of money.
Our garden is encircled
by heavy duty, eight foot tall fencing, anchored by six-inch diameter posts.
Why the huge posts and high fencing? “To keep out the deer, of course,” is our
response, which seems reasonable. When the time comes to defend the garden, the
gate will be locked and barbed wire coiled along the fence. Supplies in the
barn include years of firewood, cedar posts, building materials, mulch,
fertilizer for the garden, and other items. These stores are easily explained
too. We’re staying ahead of inflation, and well-cured firewood burns cleaner
with much less smoke.
Our defense perimeter is
far from being ready, which is worrisome. Fall-back positions have been
determined; fields of fire are planned; and several explainable or hidden
obstacles are in place. However, laying rows of loosely coiled barbed wire in
the yard is part of the plan, but that would scream “We Are Preppers!”right
now. What we have done for a prepared defense is subtle or hidden.
There was never a gate
on our long driveway, but with banks deep enough to prevent vehicles from
crossing, a creek lines the entire front of the property. Rebar reinforced,
concrete-filled steel posts now support a strong gate across the driveway as
close to the culvert as we could get. The bend in the driveway at this point
will prevent any vehicle from gaining speed to smash the gate. A heavy-duty
pickup or an armored vehicle, yes, could ram the metal until it gave way, but
the loud racket would alert us, giving us needed time to make ready. However,
even though it would be a rough ride, a skilled 4-wheeler rider could negotiate
the sides of the gate. We need to slow down any attempt of fast intrusion.
It looks like a nice
little flower garden. My wife planted a variety of flowers at each end of the
gate that will bloom from April to October with plenty of mulch, but underneath
will be the surprise for anyone with nefarious intentions. With many embedded,
sharpened three-foot long, 3/8” rebar, anyone on foot will regret ignoring the
“do not step on the flowers” sign, or a rider on a 4-wheeler will end up
kicking his four flat tires while standing clearly in our line of sight. The
rebar was cut at a sharp 60 degree angle, so setting the metal in the ground
was not easy. It is recommended drilling a ¼” hole one inch deep in a large
knot of pine or fir. The knot will last longer and not split as easily as
lumber without a knot. The smaller diameter hole will allow you to pound the
knot with the inserted rebar while preserving the sharp end of the spike.
Depending on the number of bars you will “plant”, make sure you have enough
drilled knots on hand, as each knot will eventually give way.
Adversaries need to be
funneled into the field of fire that you determine. We’d love to encircle our
home with hedgerows of thorny honey locust. Any enemy stupid enough to attempt
to cross the 1 to 3-inch long thorn-covered bushes would surely save us
much-needed ammo. We can’t afford thousands of dollars to purchase that many
plants nor can we wait for them to be properly pruned and mature. So what was
our solution to deter or slow any advancing party, yet keep the defense hidden?
Stored with other fence
posts in the barn are sharpened cedar spikes that will surround each shooting
position. Before setting the spikes, coat the bottom section to be buried with
post paint, which will slow down the rotting process. Also, harvest your cedar
spikes and posts in mid to late summer as the wood is at its height of rot
resistance. Cedar posts, as well as a good supply of metal ones, will be set up
in several outer rings. We will loosely string the barbed wire in coils and
loops along the fence row, not taught. You don’t need to keep cattle in; you
need to keep intruders out.
Currently we are
building a low stone wall out of sandstone found on the farm. It is high enough
for a shooter to get into a kneeling position, yet low enough to “fall and
fire”. While in a firefight, you will need to shoot a round or two and
immediately move to a new position. The wall will provide cover to keep the
enemy from seeing where you are going. Every twenty feet we’ve added a column
that is a little higher than the rest of the wall. This will give you added
protection and will allow for right and left-handed shooting. Okay, okay, for
you out there who already know what will happen when a bullet strikes any
stone, there’s a solution. For now, we’re trying to make defenses look like
part of the landscape. However, stacked up in the woods are hundreds of filled
sandbags. When SHTF, these bags will be placed in front of the stone wall,
which will absorb unfriendly fire. Otherwise, stone will shatter and act as
projectiles.
Even though our home
sits between the road and two acres of southern pine and brambles (a good
deterrent), there is still a way intruders could sneak around the back of the
house. Much of the area’s timber is Virginia Pine and red cedar, but there is
also some fir and yellow cedar that can also be used. During storms, many of
these trees are downed, which are deposited in the defense “hole”. This line of
deterrence is now over 300 feet long, 30 wide, and averages eight feet tall.
The limbs and trunks lay at various angles so the branches will make a mess for
anyone trying to cross this barrier. Its purpose is to funnel intruders to the
front of the house into a narrow field of fire.
It’s still manageable
for a starving thief to climb through this jungle, so, as further deterrent,
barbed wire is loosely strung in loops and coils the length of the line. As
each layer of trees is added for height and density, I add another line of
barbed wire. The first time you install the wire, you will realize the exertion
needed to climb through the barrier. Don’t make the mistake I did by wearing a
loose-sleeved tee shirt, which is now a shredded short sleeve shirt. As each
layer of limbs and wire are added, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the first
row of barbed wire, so first it’s recommended to unwind the wire in the area in
front (the direction of intrusion) of the barrier. Unravel at least twice the
taught length of wire so that you will have plenty of looseness to entangle.
Using an extension pole, entwine the wire through limbs and get the barbs near
the top.
As the years go by, two
things will happen to this defensive line– the wood will gradually rot and,
with gravity, will settle, making it easier to climb over. Of course you can
add more layers, but if you have a tractor with a backhoe or front end loader,
“fluff” the pile. By lifting one section at a time, the timber will become
entangled again.
Will this deterrent
work? It already has! At 2 am one morning last month, we awoke to our barking
guard dogs. We could also hear men cussing. Apparently coon hunters, attempted
to round up their hounds, without respectfully asking permission to enter our
property. Three men were forced by the barrier to trudge up a very steep hill
at the end of the line of “defensive” limbs. We watched from a darkened window
as this racket continued for over twenty minutes. We could often see flashlight
beams congregate while the men swore between heavy breathing.
It’s not often we
preppers get a chance to “test” our defenses. Even though this incident wasn’t
a threatening one, we were able to feel a little safer knowing that if it had
been an emergency, our deterrent works, and we could have prepared for the
threat.
From the Survival Blog
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